Boat



March 22, 1960 G. E. PERCE 2,929,346

' BOAT Filed July 17, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Glenn E. Perce INVENTOR.

G. E. PERCE March 22, 1960 BOAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 17, 1956 INVENTOR. 4062m- Glenn E. Perce MmyfiM Fig.5

G. E. PERCE March 22, 1960 BOAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 17, 1956 Glenn E. Perce INVENTOR.

BOAT

GlennErPerce, Aurora, Ill.

ApplicationJuly17, .1956, Serial No. 598,400

'1 Claim. (Cl. 11466'.'5)

This invention relates ;to improvements in boats .and .more particularlya boat whichis capable of both underdescribedand claimed, reference being had'to the ac companying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which? Figure 1 is an elevational viewrofa boat constructed" in accordance withtheinvention; I

Figure 2 is a top plan view of ethe -boat in-Figure :1; Figure 3 is a bottom view of. the'boat of Figure 1;

ttes Patent 2,929,346 Patented :Mar. :22, 11.968

@member, as1stick28 or.=-a wheel. Itisireadilyappreciated that any type of .power planufor the boat may -be used, and, accordingly, a standard-.outboard motor is illus- :trated, this outboard motorhaving its-clamp'32 attached to-transom34. The transom "islocated in an opening 38 'formed in the-bottom part of the aft hemisphere 20, and

suitable controls forstheoutboard motor may be-arranged ata. place convenient to the pilot of the boat.

There is a keel .40whichprotru'des fromthe hull betweensthe bow and stem thereof. -Center -board .42 011 which: theboat is adapted to plane is provided with a slot 44 at one end, between which-keel is -fitted. Pivot pin adjustment. I passed throughpackingSO in an opening in hull 12'adja- 46 connects thecentertboard 42 to-the'keel. There are means to raise and lower the center board for f proper These. means comprise a screw 48 that '48 cent to .keel 40. IA ball joint==52 connects screw 4810 an intermediate spartof centersboard 42, -and there is a crank 58 at theupperextremity of the screw-accessible to the pilot througha hand hole60 -indeck 24.

In order to provide-control forces for the 'boaty'there are two setslof 'fins. f1 hereis a fore set of fins including fins .64 and 66, together with an aft'set of fins that ineludes tfins'68 and 70; Each fin is very similar-in con- V struction.-}- The .fore set of fins 64 and 6'6'are mounted bylball joints Hand 73.

Qthe (spindle 81 Iis "secured to fin ed; '-The spindles a'r'e farr'angedin axialpalignment sothat the fins are capable Figure 4 is a rear view of the boat of Figure'l;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a part of the control system for the fins of the boat;

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing another part of the control system, which, in construction, is superposed with respect to the remainder of the control system shown in Figure 8; I

Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the fins, the means for mounting the fins for universal movement and a lever to apply rotary adjustment to the fin for certain maneuvers in the water.

A boat constructed in accordance with the invention is capable of both underwater and surface propulsion. The illustration in the accompanying drawings is of a surface craft, although very minor modification, consisting principally of sealing and making water-tight certain parts, is all that is necessary to have an underwater craft.

ofirotation about a common -a-xis which lieson a chord at the1crossesectional:cirele of the hull configuration at the axis of rotation of the'pins 64and 66. 7 "Accordingly, the fins are disposed below the longitudinal center line of the hull.

The aft set of fins68 and70 are mounted in an identical fashion, including spindles 86 and 87 having balls 88 and 89 respectively mounted in sockets that are carried by the hull. These spindles are arranged coaxially on a chord of a circle considered similarly to the previously described in connection with the disposition of pins 64 and 66. A single wheel or control stick, as at 90, constitutes the control members for simultaneously actuating all of the fins. As clearly evidenced on inspection of Figure 8, the control stick 90 is mounted on a ball joint which includes ball 91 in socket 92 which 7 may be carried by the deck. The lower end of-'-the control stick has control cables connected to it. "The cables are entrained over a network of pulleys carried by the hall 12 and are arranged such as to cause spindles torbe rotated in response to forward or rearward movement of control stick 90. To accomplish this, the inner' extremity of each spindle has a rocker fixed to it. There are rockers 83, 94, 95 and 96, respectively, one being secured to the inner extremity of each spindle. When the control stick is moved forward, :cables 97 andc98 The control features of the underwater craft and the sur- 7 face craft will be the same.

Boat 10 consists of a hull 12 which is approximately circular in cross-section from the bow 14 thereof to the stern 16. The bow is formed of a hemisphere 18 joined to the hull, while the stern is formed of. a hemisphere 20 that is also joined to the hull. The portions of the hull between the bow and stern hemispheres resemble a truncated cone; that is, it tapers from a smaller bow to a larger stern, with the diameter of the hull increasing while moving from the bow to the stern. Canopy 22 is either-hinged or detachably connected to a part of the hull for access to the interior thereof. Deck 24 is located below the canopy and supports a seat 26 behind control cause spindles 80 and 81 to rotate in one direction inas much as they are secured to the lower ends of. rockers 94 and 93 and allow the spindles 87 and 86 to be rotated in the opposite direction to the upper ends of rockers 95 and 96. Meanwhile, cables 100 and 102, which are secured to the upper extremities of rockers 96 and 95 and after being appropriately wrapped around the network of pulleys, secured to the lower end'of stick 90, apply a positive rotational force onto the spindles 86 and 87 in a direction opposite to-that of spindles 81 and 80.

This causes a resulting, corresponding rotary control movement of each of the fins, inasmuch as the fins are secured to their spindles. This adjustment is seen in Figure 1. Movement of the stick in the opposite dircc+ Each ball joint comprises af" Esocketgfor example, sockets 74 =and75', in which balls jli and?! 'areseated. The sockets are carriedby the'hull', "1 whilethelballs are carried on spindles 80 and 8154c: spectively, the'spin'dle 80 being secured-to fin 64,'-whilefromone side to the. other. This causes the control fins .to be raised or lowered throughout a range of approximately 45 degrees up and 45 degrees down (see Figure 4). The control cable arrangement of Figure 9 is such as to cause the finson the starboard side to move in unison, say downward, and at the same time the fins on the port side move in unison in the opposite direction,

which will be upward. In order to achieve this, the con-. ,trol system of Figure 9 is used, it being understood that --both of these systems are applied to the'same control stick and simultaneously,-that is, the systems of Figures 8;and 9, but they are shown separately in the twoifigures ;for clarity. By moving the stick 90 in one direction, for example to the left, theright fins connected. to spindles .86 and 80 are lifted by having pulley. movement applied to cable 108, the latter being secured to both spindles 80 and 86 at a point inwardly of the ball sockets which ,mount the spindle for universal movement. At the same time, the left fins are moved down by a pull applied to cables 110 and 112 that are secured to the spindles 81 ,raise and lower the fins; that is, the fins on the. starboard side are raised, while the fins on the port side are lowered, andvice versa. This applies rolling control to the boat, permitting it to achieve correct attitudes in its movement through the water.

It is understood that various modifications may be made herein without departing from the invention. For example, instead of cables, a hydraulic system may be adopted for the control. Inboard engines of any type and outboard engines of any type may be substituted for the outboard motor 30. Other modifications as fall in the scope of the following claim may be resorted to.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A high speed and maneuverable boat comprising a hull, said hull having a generally circular cross-section and being taperedfrom a smaller forward diameter to a longer aft diameter to form a truncated cone, a first hemisphere having a diameter equal to said smaller forward diameter fixed to the forward portion of said hull, a second hemisphere having a diameter equal to said longer aft diameter fixed to the aft portion of said hull, a plurality of control fins, said plurality of control fins including a forward and an aft pair of fins, each of said plurality'oi fins being mounted for rotational movement about an axis which forms a chord of said circular crosssection, and angular longitudinal movement about a terminal end of said fin, means carried by said boat to actuate said fins, said means including a control stick in said hull, control cables connected to said stick and said fins for synchronously controlling said fin movement, and a center board pivotally dependingly supported from beneath said hull, means in said boat for adjusting and maintaining said pivotal position of said center board, a slot in said, center board, said slot accommodating said keel, said keel fixed tosaid hull and pivotally connected to said center board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 939,651 Applegate Nov. 9, 1909 1,458,844 Perkins June 12, 1923 2,143,655 .H0jnowski Jan. 10, 1939 

